Pleurocera
Encyclopedia
Pleurocera is a genus
of freshwater snail
s with an operculum
, gastropod mollusks in the family Pleuroceridae
. Pleurocera is the type genus of that family. All mambers of the genus Pleurocera are native to eastern North America. Most inhabit the larger rivers, but many also thrive in reservoirs. All are thick-walled high-spired snails, and some may attain over 4 cm in length. Larger species may develop sculpturing and a small siphonal canal or notch at the base of the aperture. The animal usually has a gray or brown coloration, commonly speckled with orange. Opercula are paucispiral and corneous, but may be vestigial in some species, not completely closing the aperture.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of freshwater snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
s with an operculum
Operculum (gastropod)
The operculum, meaning little lid, is a corneous or calcareous anatomical structure which exists in many groups of sea snails and freshwater snails, and also in a few groups of land snails...
, gastropod mollusks in the family Pleuroceridae
Pleuroceridae
Pleuroceridae, common name pleurocerids, is a family of small to medium-sized freshwater snails, aquatic gilled gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Cerithioidea.These snails have an operculum and typically a robust high-spired shell....
. Pleurocera is the type genus of that family. All mambers of the genus Pleurocera are native to eastern North America. Most inhabit the larger rivers, but many also thrive in reservoirs. All are thick-walled high-spired snails, and some may attain over 4 cm in length. Larger species may develop sculpturing and a small siphonal canal or notch at the base of the aperture. The animal usually has a gray or brown coloration, commonly speckled with orange. Opercula are paucispiral and corneous, but may be vestigial in some species, not completely closing the aperture.
Species
Species within the genus Pleurocera include:- sharp hornsnailPleurocera acutaPleurocera acuta, common name sharp hornsnail, is a species of small freshwater snail with a gill and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Pleuroceridae, the hornsnails.- Shell description :The shell can have up to 14 whorls....
(Pleurocera acuta) - rugged hornsnailRugged hornsnailThe rugged hornsnail is a species of gastropod in the Pleuroceridae family. It is endemic to the United States....
(Pleurocera alveare) - ringed hornsnailRinged hornsnailThe ringed hornsnail is a species of gastropod in the Pleuroceridae family. It is endemic to the United States....
(Pleurocera annulifera) - spiral hornsnailSpiral hornsnailThe spiral hornsnail is a species of freshwater snail, a gastropod in the Pleuroceridae family. It is endemic to the United States....
(Pleurocera brumbyi) - corpulent hornsnailCorpulent hornsnailThe corpulent hornsnail, scientific name Pleurocera corpulenta, is a species of freshwater snails with an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Pleuroceridae. This species is endemic to the United States....
(Pleurocera corpulenta) - shortspire hornsnailShortspire hornsnailThe shortspire hornsnail is a species of gastropod in the Pleuroceridae family. It is endemic to the United States....
(Pleurocera curta) - rough hornsnailRough hornsnailThe rough hornsnail is a rare species of freshwater snail in the Pleuroceridae family. It is endemic to Alabama in the United States, where it is found only in the Coosa River system...
(Pleurocera foremani) - skirted hornsnailSkirted hornsnailThe skirted hornsnail is a species of gastropod in the Pleuroceridae family. It is endemic to the United States....
(Pleurocera pyrenella) - upland hornsnailUpland hornsnailThe upland hornsnail is a species of freshwater snail, a gastropod in the Pleuroceridae family. It is endemic to the United States....
(Pleurocera showalteri) - telescope hornsnailTelescope hornsnailThe telescope hornsnail is a species of gastropod in the Pleuroceridae family. It is endemic to the United States....
(Pleurocera walkeri) - Broken hornsnailBroken hornsnailThe broken hornsnail is a species of small freshwater snail, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Pleuroceridae, the hornsnails.This species is considered to be vulnerable or imperiled.-External links:* at NatureServe....
(Pleurocera postelli) - Silty hornsnail (Pleurocera canaliculata)